The present disclosure relates to the management of financial transactions made by debtors with creditors via bank accounts of the latter. More precisely, this disclosure relates to methods and devices for managing composite transactions, for example transactions comprising a payment and a donation to a particular entity, done by means of devices connected by a communications network.
Whereas traditionally donations used to be made autonomously, for example by addressing a cheque or a transfer to an entity of general interest or by giving change to a representative of an association, today there are computer applications (that is, in practice, on computers, personal assistants, smartphones or similar).
An important characteristic of the computer-implemented mechanisms for collecting donations relates to the quality of interfaces for making donations so that a user is not inclined to discard an offer for donation due to complexity, excessive time, uncertainty as to amount, beneficiary or reliability of the procedure, etc.
While these mechanisms generally follow simple monetary rules by proposing for example rounding a sum to be paid for a purchase up to a whole number or paying a predetermined sum for each purchase, the implementation is generally complex for meeting the simplicity needs of the user and security needs of transactions. Also, there is substantial demand for traceability of donations, especially for tax reasons.
FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an environment in which a mechanism for collecting donations can be implemented, allowing a client to make a micro-donation during a purchase, for example a donation of the difference between the price to pay and this price rounded up to a whole number.
As illustrated, the environment 100 allows a client 105 having a payment card making purchases from a merchant having a computer infrastructure 110. Apart from this infrastructure, the environment 100 here comprises a computer system 115 linked to a bank of the merchant, a computer system (not shown) linked to a bank of the client and a computer system 120 linked to a bank of an organisation 125 of NGO type (acronym for Non-Governmental Organisation).
The computer infrastructure 110 of the merchant here comprises, in particular, a computerised accounting system 130, a cash register software 135 associated with a cash register operated by a checkout operator and a payment terminal 140. The computerised accounting system 130 and the cash register software 135 are connected to each other by a communications network, for example a network of Ethernet type using IP protocol (acronym of Internet Protocol).
Computer systems linked to banks are connected to each other and to the computerised accounting system 130 as well as to the payment terminal 140 by a communications network of Internet type, with data exchanges being secured, for example by encryption.
The mechanism for collecting donations is generally implemented in the computerised accounting system 130 of the merchant and in the cash register software.
When a client go through checkout to make payment for his purchases (step {circle around (1)}), of an amount noted M, the checkout operator asks if he wants to make a donation of an amount noted D (step {circle around (2)}). If the client declines, the payment process continues conventionally (not shown).
On the contrary, if the client accepts to make a donation (step {circle around (3)}), the checkout operator presses a specific button to calculate a donation value based on the rounded up value of the amount of purchases, scans a specific barcode to obtain a similar result or inputs the amount of the donation using the cash register software (step {circle around (3)}′). This input is typically performed by adding a particular reference to the list of references of products bought by the client, this particular reference designating a donation and allowing, if desirable, inputting any amount by the checkout operator.
It is observed that several particular references can be used to designate an entity to which the donation is to be made. The donation is thus integrated into the sales receipt whereof the total amount indicated, noted T, comprises the amount of real purchases (M) and the amount of the donation (D). In other words, T=M+D.
In a following step (step {circle around (4)}), the total amount (T) indicated on the sales receipt, the amount of real purchases (M) and the amount of the donation (D) are transmitted by the cash register software 135 to the computerised accounting system 130 of the merchant.
If payment of purchases is made by bank card (and not in cash or by cheque), the cash register software automatically transmits the amount to be paid (T) to the payment terminal 140. Alternatively, this amount is input by the checkout operator at the payment terminal 140. If it is authorised, the client validates the payment by means of his secret code.
The computer system of the bank of the merchant telecollects the cashed transactions of the merchant, typically periodically, and through a bank intermediation scheme, presents the amount of the payments (T=M or T=M+D according to whether the client has made a donation or not) to credit an account of the merchant by a corresponding amount (step {circle around (5)}).
At the same time, the computerised accounting system 130 of the merchant updates account journals into which the amounts of real purchases (M) and the amounts of donations (D), typically by beneficiary organisation, appear. Separate management of amounts of real purchases (M) and amounts of donations (D) is utilized for accounting reasons (linked for example to VAT, acronym for Value-Added Tax) and tax reasons (especially for calculating revenues in which the amount of donations does not have to be specified).
The account journal of donations is especially used by the merchant to periodically refund, for example every month, the total amount of donations received for the account of one or more organisations. Such payments are typically made upon order of the merchant to its bank, the latter executing the order of transaction (steps {circle around (6)} and {circle around (6)}′). The organisation or organisations then have donations paid for carrying out their missions (step {circle around (7)}).
It is observed here that implementation of the mechanisms for collecting donations or micro-donations such as that described with reference to FIG. 1 requires substantial modifications of the used devices.
In particular, it is typical to modify the cash register software and/or to add a software cooperating with the latter, to allow the input of at least one particular reference designating a donation and enabling the calculation of an associated amount or the input of any associated amount, so that a particular article, not subject to VAT, is added to a sales receipt.
It is also typical to modify the computerised accounting system of the merchant to allow separate management of amounts of real purchases and amounts of donations, to enable processing of references of products assimilated into donations and not subject to VAT (these amounts do not have to form part of the calculated revenue) to manage different account journals and credit external accounts (accounts associated with organisations of NGO type) as well as to calculate the exact revenue amount.
In addition, it should be noted that the implementation of these mechanisms for collecting donations requires the involvement of checkout personnel for clients. Therefore, for example, checkout operators will beg the clients by asking them to make a donation and if so, handle initiation of the donation management process. This extra work is generally considered as unpleasant by checkout operators who feel that they are begging for donations. Also, this method may have an unpleasant psychological influence and be considered as intrusive by the client who feels trapped to the extent where a refusal can be poorly received by a checkout operator or a nearby customer when the question is asked.
Therefore, the constraints imposed by these mechanisms for collecting donations have considerable consequences.
Also, there is a risk of substantially slowing down the checkout due to the complexity of the procedure.
Finally, the modifications to be made to the cash register software and in the computerised accounting system of the merchant are very expensive (typically of the order of several million euros (dollars) in terms of a chain operating nationally). It is observed here that modifications are very difficult to export from one merchant to another, thereby involving repetition of modification operations and therefore of related costs.
Finally, transfer and management of funds are of the responsibility of the merchant, without real possible controls. The traceability of donations is accordingly not assured, leading to problems such as tax exemption problems.